Foot Pain

Because your feet are composed of so many different moving parts that are delicate and vulnerable, foot pain treatment isn’t always as cut and dried as other medical treatments. And since your feet play such a vital role in allowing you to do your everyday activities, you can’t be limited by untreated foot pain — especially when help is so close. Just 30 minutes from New York City, Premier Podiatry in Clifton, NJ offers complete diagnostic and foot pain treatment to relieve you of discomfort from any number of foot problems. Get the best treatment; call Premier Podiatry today for a consultation.

Foot pain is difficult to resolve because you rarely can afford to stay off your feet for days on end. If you’re like most Americans, you’re always on the go. It’s devastating if an injury or disease knocks you off your feet for longer than a day. The complex tangle of muscles, ligaments, bones, tissues and tendons is so prone to damage that nearly 77 percent of Americans suffer pain in their feet at some point in their lives, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA).

More alarming, though, is that only one-third seek medical attention from a specialist. A podiatrist is trained to treat all forms of foot pain, from Achilles tendonitis and gout to ingrown toenails and athlete’s foot. A leading podiatrist in Clifton, New Jersey — Dr. Velimir Petkov at Premier Podiatry — encourages you to seek foot pain treatment as soon as possible to both ease your discomfort and prevent serious complications.

Where It Hurts

Since there are so many ways you can hurt your feet, it takes a specialist to diagnose the source of your pain and provide effective treatment. The APMA reports that more than 76 percent of those who sought foot pain treatment received a quick diagnosis and long-lasting, sometimes permanent relief.

Finding the source of your foot pain is your NJ podiatrist’s first objective during your initial consultation. Through a set of exams, walking tests and state-of-the-art diagnostics, Dr. Petkov arrives at a diagnosis for:

• Pain on the top of the foot that usually results from an injury, like dropping something heavy on your foot or causing a fracture in one of the small bones in your feet. Torn or strained tendons also lead to inflammation and pain on the top of the foot.
• Pain in the arch of a foot occurs at any point between the ball of your foot and the heel. Most of the time, pain in the arch of the foot is caused by ligament inflammation, a condition referred to as plantar fasciitis. The heel on that foot often has heel spurs that add to your discomfort. Most of the time, pain in the arch of a foot is caused by overuse, carrying too much weight or wearing shoes with insufficient arch support.
• Bottom of foot pain may be the result of metatarsalgia, which is common among people with high arches, as well as runners and athletes who do high-impact activities. Sprains, plantar fasciitis, Morton’s neuroma and wearing tight shoes also can lead to bottom of foot pain.
• Chronic pain may require neuropathy foot pain treatment in the form of pain medication, physical therapy or even surgery. When you suffer from peripheral nerve damage, the tingling, pain and numbness in your feet may be due to nerve damage elsewhere in your spine. This is a condition called peripheral neuropathy.

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Initial Foot Pain Treatment

At Premier Podiatry, the first line of treatment typically involves home care that your podiatrist monitors. It may include:

• Rest
• Ice
• Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication
• Compression
• Elevation

Seek the advice of an experienced podiatrist before beginning any home treatment to prevent complications that could seriously impact your mobility. If you have foot pain with diabetes, you could end up with permanent joint damage or even amputation.

Targeted Foot Pain Treatments

Once you receive a firm diagnosis of your foot pain, Dr. Petkov has a wealth of treatment options to get you back on your feet as quickly as possible. When home care doesn’t provide significant relief within a few days, other treatment options include:

• Nerve pain in foot treatment, such as advice for managing your diabetes, platelet-rich plasma injections, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), or surgery to remove a tumor that may be pressing on a nerve in your foot.
• A prescription for custom shoe inserts that relieve the pain caused by bunions, flat feet, heel pain, hammer toes, or a pinched nerve.
• Minimally invasive surgery to fix a ruptured Achilles tendon, or to remove heel spurs, warts, corns or ingrown toenails.

Foot Pain Q & A

What are the most common causes of foot pain?

Foot pain is a common complaint, becoming more common as people get older. Some of the most common causes of foot pain include:

• plantar fasciitis
• osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
• neuromas and other nerve-related issues
• diseases that affect circulation, including diabetes
• heel spurs
• bursitis
• tendinitis
• plantar warts
• bunions and hammertoes
• corns and calluses
• ingrown toenails
• fractures, sprains, and strains
• arch-related problems, including flat feet and “fallen” arches
• gait-related problems
• repetitive stress
• being obese or overweight
• shoes that do not fit properly or do not provide adequate support

Many causes of foot pain are related to injuries from slip-and-fall accidents or sports injuries, especially from sports that cause significant impact to the bottoms of the feet.

How are the causes of foot pain diagnosed?

Diagnosis begins with a physical examination of the foot and a review of symptoms, as well as a review of the personal and family health history of the patient to look for issues that could cause pain or have a bearing on treatment. During the examination, passive and active movements may be used to determine the source of pain and to evaluate the function and flexibility of the foot and ankle. When a physical examination does not provide enough information to develop a form diagnosis, x-rays or other types of diagnostic imaging procedures may be ordered to provide additional information.

What treatments are available for foot pain?

Painful foot conditions require different types of treatment depending on the underlying cause. Typically, conservative options like oral medications, steroid injections, and custom orthotics are used first, accompanied by stretching exercises or physical therapy as needed. If the plantar fascia is involved, special splints may be used to help gently stretch the tissue and improve flexibility over time. Lifestyle changes including losing excess weight or changing shoe style may also help. In cases where the causes of foot pain are more complex, and conservative options aren’t effective in providing relief, surgery may be recommended to remove heel spurs, reposition the plantar fascia where it attaches to the heel or provides other corrective measures.

Don’t continue to suffer. Be one of the smart people with foot pain who contact a podiatrist at the first sign of foot pain. Contact Premier Podiatry today for an appointment.

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